A look back at the original reporting and analysis found on MLBTR this past week as we wind down 2014:
- Jake Peavy told Zach Links he had received interest from other teams before agreeing to return to the Giants. “Not being Jon Lester, I wasn’t flying around everywhere nor did I want to get my door beat in but…we had six or seven teams wanting to make offers.“
- Sergio Romo explained to Zach why he turned down opportunities to close and three-year contract offers to re-sign with the Giants. “Being a closer, that title doesn’t really matter to me…that third year would have meant a lot to me, but you’ve got to go to a place where you’re happy and excited to go to work every day. The Giants gave me an opportunity to be somebody. I enjoy going to work and I’m really glad that I was wanted back.”
- Phil Hughes downplayed to Zach the importance of his new contract extension allowing him to still hit free agency while in his prime. “That’s the benefit of coming into the league at the age of 20, I put some service time behind me so even after this contract, I’ll be 32, 33, but that’s something for another day. I haven’t even begun to think about my next deal, this is five years away and I have a lot of things I want to accomplish. After that, we’ll see where we’re at.“
- MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz examined the arbitration cases of David Price and a trio of right-handers: Lance Lynn, Chris Tillman, and Alex Cobb.
- Charlie Wilmoth broke down free agent spending to date by division.
- Mark Polishuk listed the managers and GMs entering the final year of their contract.
- Steve Adams was the first to report the minor league deal right-hander Anthony Carter signed with the Cubs is a split contract calling for a MLB salary of $575K.
- Zach asked MLBTR readers where Max Scherzer will sign. Nearly 43% of you believe the top ranked free agent on MLBTR’s 2014-15 Top Free Agents list will either re-sign with the Tigers or become a Yankee.
- Brad Johnson asked MLBTR readers to name the best remaining free agent position player. More than one-third of you chose infielder Asdrubal Cabrera.
- Jeff Todd asked MLBTR readers to select the most surprising free agent contract of the offseason. You were fairly split between the deals given to Russell Martin, Brandon McCarthy, Billy Butler, and Hanley Ramirez.
- Steve presented a Free Agent Faceoff between closers Francisco Rodriguez, Rafael Soriano, and Casey Janssen. Over 39% of you prefer K-Rod.
- Zach gathered the best the baseball corner of the web had to offer in Baseball Blogs Weigh In.
- Steve hosted the weekly live chat.
